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Summit situated in the townland of Cross. Had an army base on the summit, dismantled around 2001. The second element of Slieve Girkin is suggestive of cuircín, 'crest' or 'comb', which would fit well with the crinkly appearance of the summit when seen from Camlough, but no Irish forms have been found to confirm this.
Camlough Mountain is the 835th highest summit in Ireland. Camlough Mountain is the second highest point in county Armagh.Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/724/

Picture from pdtempan : Camlough Mountain seen from Newry Railway Station - ticket to adventure

Picture: Camlough Mountain seen from Newry Railway Station - ticket to adventure

pdtempan on Camlough Mountain, 2009

by pdtempan 23 Feb 2009

Another Sunday adventure on NI Railways with a Tracker ticket saw us heading for Newry. A Tracker ticket allows you to go anywhere for just £5.50 - that is, as long as it's not anywhere further afield from Belfast than, say, Derry, Newry, Larne or Bangor. But don't knock it, so far we have managed Ballymena to Larne via Slemish, another outing to Agnew's Hill and Sallagh Braes, and have even made forays south of the border into the Cooley Mountains by taking our bikes on the train and continuing on foot to Carnavaddy and Clermont Carn. Last Sunday our objective was Camlough Mountain aka Newry Mountain, or Slieve Girkin if you prefer. Yes, Slieve Girkin must be right up there with Vinegar Hill (Fiodh na gCaor), Lemon Rock (Lomán) and Carrawaystick Brook (Ceathrú Istigh?) as one of the most ludicrous anglicisations ever of an Irish place-name, which you will either love or hate, depending on your point of view as a purist or one who delights in the sometimes absurd results of linguistic contact. Needless to say, Slieve Girkin has nothing to do with cucumbers of the pickled or unpickled variety. It seems as though it derives from Sliabh gCuircín, 'mountain of the crest/comb', though I've never come across a source to confirm the Irish form (not even Art MacCooey's poems). The first four-fifths of the climb were a cinch, as a road leads up to the old British army masts on the western brow, but the last fifth is not to be underestimated. Leaving the road at the nearest point (hairpin bend at J054250C), we made a beeline for the summit, but it took us half an hour to walk the final 800m and gain the last 100m of height. Not enough time has elapsed since the demilitarisation for walkers to have been beaten much of a path through the bog, heather and moor-grass. However, the fabulous view along the length of Carlingford Lough made it worth while (the Mournes were mostly in cloud). We made our way back to the road, but looping further north, thus avoiding the worst of the bog and heather. An excellent afternoon's outing, but we will have to come again to discover the steeper western flanks and to walk along the banks of Cam Lough. I didn't see the expected rock feature resembling a cock's comb which seemingly gives the mountain its name Sliabh gCuircín, but maybe that too will be revealed by more thorough exploration. Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/724/comment/3608/